18 December 2020
This month the final lizard monitoring stations were set up at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, with 80 permanent survey stations installed in two main blocks within the 63ha mouse-free Southern Enclosure. Each station consists of two stacked Artificial...13 November 2020
The Department of Conservation Kiwibank Conservation Dogs programme is holding its annual training week at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. Many of the Kiwi Bank Conservation Dog handlers are in remote areas and do not often have the opportunity for...6 November 2020
By Janelle Ward, Species Coordinator Sanctuary Mountain’s five takahÄ“ juveniles were safely captured, checked and sent to Burwood Bush rearing facility in mid-August in a very successful but time pressured capture event –all chicks...27 October 2020
Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust Board Community Trustee Vacancy Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari (SMM) is New Zealand’s most ambitious and inspirational ecological restoration project. Maungatautari Ecological Island...18 August 2020
By Adrian Cookson, AgResearch in Palmerston North. I’m a Microbiologist and am very interested in analysing the Escherichia coli bacteria as indicators of faecal contamination in waterways. My previous work in collaboration with Massey...19 June 2020
A new partnership between Hamilton based Convex and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is being celebrated with Convex planting 100 kowhai trees around the Tari Road Visitor Centre on Friday, 3 July. Around 20 team members from Convex will be heading to...5 June 2020
By Janelle Ward, Species Co-ordinator Insects rarely receive the same amount of attention as our more charismatic species such as kiwi or hihi. However, the rare and endangered species of New Zealand include many interesting insects. As part of our...8 May 2020
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari's visitor centre, Manu Tioriori, will reopen on Wednesday, 20 May. If one of the main things you have missed from the New Zealand Covid-19 lockdowns has been getting amongst nature – at...4 May 2020
The magic of mushrooms Autumn is the best time to fossick for fungi and appreciate the magic of mushrooms! Our ranger Craig recently took this amazing shot of a North Island robin next to a beautiful fungus that popped up in the northern enclosure....4 May 2020
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari will re-open the Manu Tioriori Visitor Centre when New Zealand moves to Alert Level 2. From this date, the Southern Enclosure Explorer Passes can be purchased online or directly at the Visitor Centre, located at 99 Tari...3 April 2020
It was the biggest day of the year for our takahe families on the 12th March, when all of them were captured for annual health checks and chick banding and vaccination. Thankfully, all four babies have been growing well and are now starting to look...21 March 2020
IMPORTANT NOTICE: With the announcement from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on 21 March 2020 about COVID-19 alert systems and advice on minimising our movement around the country, we have made the difficult decision to close Manu Tioriori our visitor...3 March 2020
By Janelle Ward, Species Coordinator Despite the very dry weather, we have active and thriving species here at Maungatautari this summer. Takahe – With the recent weather, the grass growth has slowed right down which impacts the feed...31 January 2020
Our charismatic birds such as kaka, takahe and kokako often gain a lot of the attention, but what about all the other precious species at the maunga? Native fish including giant and banded kokopu were reintroduced in 2007, Hochstetter’s frogs have...31 January 2020
By Rosie Cahalane I've now been guiding for two years and it is such a joy to introduce visiting groups to the maunga. It has helped me to truly appreciate the uniqueness of our environment and wildlife while at the same time meeting lots of...2 December 2019
By Graham Parker Nganeko’s Pou is a memorial to Nganeko Tawhai, who was the sole owner of Maungatautari 4GIV block in the 1800s. She was the wife of Mahuta Potatau Tawhiao, third king of the Waikato-Tainui iwi. This block formed the gateway...2 December 2019
By Neil Smith Back in 2007 I started volunteering on the maunga by carrying out the monthly close-up inspections of the part of the perimeter fence on the boundary of the Andree-Wiltens farm. Soon after that I joined Rod’s gofer team and...2 December 2019
By Dr Janelle Ward, Species Co-ordinator In my spare time over the past six months, I have been tackling our Maungatautari kiwi database to get it up to date and accurate. It’s amazing how easy it is for there to be errors in a...2 December 2019
By Peter Lee-Johnson, Programme Officer, Katikati Tramping Group (KKTC) When Jessica Meade approached me regarding our club spending a day at Sanctuary Mountain helping staff with track clearing, a notice to club members produced an enthusiastic...2 December 2019
My name is Ruth and for the past 10 years I have been a volunteer Visitor Host at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. I would like to share with you some thoughts about this wonderful safe haven. The predator proof fence enclosing such a large...5 November 2019
Carpark build starts at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari Construction on the new visitor carpark begins at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari’s visitor centre this Thursday, 7th November. We are very excited about this new development, but...31 October 2019
There are two types of ecosanctuaries; those which are fenced, such as our Maunga, and those which are not, but which rely on bait stations to provide a level of protection to enable native and endemic species to breed. I have been involved with...31 October 2019
Winter Wanderings By Russell Ingram-Seal – invertebrate enthusiast, amateur photographer and kiwi conservation volunteer. In July I was lucky enough to be given permission to explore Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari to look at invertebrates...13 September 2019
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and food brand Mother Earth have partnered up for a sponsorship targeted at education programmes at the wildlife sanctuary. The sponsorship will go towards improving the education programme that Sanctuary...7 December 2018
We are delighted to share with you the kokako census on Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari conducted by Ian Flux during September and October 2018. According to the report: Nineteen (19) territorial pairs were confirmed. A further pair was...12 November 2018
Last 12 November 2018, Sanctuary Mountain Chief Executive Phil Lyons and Sanctuary Manager Geoff Churchill attended an awards gala evening for the Ministry for Primary Industries' New Zealand Biosecurity Awards. Sanctuary Mountain is a finalist...